Schoolies

Over the next couple weeks I plan on discussing some topics that have been on my mind. Most with be just thoughts others might be classified as rants. they are just things I have been thinking about. I have been fishing almost every day this month but I am in my winter mode. This means I am fishing the same place roughly the same time every night. There is only so many times you can write about the same thing. So instead of writing I caught seven this night or one ( I only got one last night) I thought I'd tackle some of these ideas in my head.

Tonight's topic is schoolies.

I think the great thing about striped bass is that they come in a variety of sizes. Even though we would all love to catch thirty pounders on every cast that is not a reality. Because Narragansett is an hour away I can't fish there every night so I fish Upper Narragansett Bay a lot. This spring was exceptional, and this late fall even better.

 There are keeper stripers that come into the bay. When the menhaden come up in the spring often big keepers follow them.This is primarily a boat fishery. Thats not to say keepers can't be caught from shore. They are fairly common. However for the most part the Upper Bay is a schoolie fishery. Most keepers will run between 28 and 33 inches, most on the low end. If you fished the Upper Bay every night from late April to June you would be very happy to land one forty inch fish.

So I choose to use gear for the size fish I expect to catch, not gear for the biggest fish I could catch. Why? It is more fun, if I'm into sub keeper size bass on a shallow sand bar why the hell would I use my surf rod. of course keepers will come along and it is awesome to hook one. Thats when experience plays a part and landing it is a combination of skill and luck.

I bring this up because so many people have schoolie fisheries. The West Wall is famous in the spring. The Thames River is the most famous winter time fishery on the East Coast and that is primarily schoolies also.

I would love to catch keepers on every cast but catching twenty three inch stripers on every cast is a hell of a lot more fun to me than catching ten inch trout ( and I do that also) or fifteen inch pickerel. I am glad that schoolie stripers are there because they fill the void waiting for the big one!

Solitude

I have been fishing almost every night. However I am in winter mode. This means I am fishing the same spot every night at roughly the same time. There is only so many times I can write I caught seven fish or one fish at the same place. So instead of writing that I thought I would write about some of the things that have been on my mind. Most of these are just thoughts others could be classified as rants. This first paragraph will be the heading of all these "editorials"  Tonight's subject is solitude and fishing alone.

I make no secret that I have no issues fishing by myself. I also have written many posts about fishing with fishing buddies. I want to make it clear I enjoy fishing with other people. This is not me being a recluse or snubbing my nose at friends. Some of my best fishing memories are with my son or friends.  This post is not in any way me saying I would rather fish by myself for the rest of my life.  I just don’t mind fishing alone, that is all.

I know people that do not like to fish by themselves. Sometimes they stay home because they don’t have anyone to fish with. I am not bashing anyone by saying that, I just do not understand this philosophy. Why anyone would choose not to fish because they don’t have someone to go with is beyond my comprehension. I guess they need the company for a long ride. Maybe they feel the need someone to see the fish if they catch one. Maybe they feel it’s more fun to catch fish with someone else (it is more fun). These are all justifiable arguments. Long rides do suck, having someone see your catch does verify it, and yes two people catching fish is more fun.

I just don’t understand why these reasons would keep a person from doing things they enjoy alone. I have given deep thought to this. I know I am not a hermit, I know I enjoy company. I also know I need more alone time than the average person. I would say it’s because I deal with a lot of people at work every day. That theory is thrown out the window because I was like this as a kid. Even then I would fish by myself. I’d take my dog for a walk just to “get away.”

So I don’t worry about being alone for extended periods. I know this is surprising, but I really do not get lonely. In 2010, I took a trip alone to Shenandoah National Park. I was gone for eight days. Of course I missed my son, but he was with his mom that week either way. I hiked every day for about ten miles. I watched deer and stopped at Antietam on my ride home. The trip itself was a great vacation

Why do I even bring up such a boring subject about whether I fish alone or not? Just because people tell me all the time they would never take a trip alone. Girls at work ask me all the time if I am afraid to camp by myself. Even my boss tells me I should carry a gun.

A typical Monday conversation at work will go like this

Girl-“What did you do?”

Me – “I went to Narragansett Thursday night fished till I couldn’t stand. Drove my car to a spot I could sleep. Woke up about sunrise and fished all day.”

Girl- “Who did you go with?”

Me “No one”

Then they ask me if I got bored spending all that time by myself instead of asking the more important question “how was the fishing?”

   When I have a day off during warm weather, I plan long distance marathon fishing excursions. During the spring I went to Wachusetts Reservoir a couple times. I drove to the Outer Cape to trout fish Nickerson State Park. Of course I did some all-nighters sleeping in Narragansett this fall. When driving so far away I like to make the trip as worthwhile as possible. Since gas is outrageous, I make a whole day of it. Sometimes I am gone from sun up till way past sundown. Honestly, I know very few people that enjoy fishing for eight to twelve hours. So instead of convincing someone to go, I just go alone.

It works out more often than not. When I went to Nickerson, I caught one trout and one small pickerel in five hours. I left and headed home. I decided to stop and fish a pond along the way. I caught twenty six trout there. It would have been very hard to convince anyone to try that pond after 5 hours of almost nothing. Going alone means you make decisions that only affect yourself.

Last winter while fishing for stripers, I would go for a couple hours even if the fish weren’t biting if I was alone. I went many times with a friend and he was always ready to leave before me. I would give in after ten minutes and take off after only an hour or so. Since this spot is about 20 minutes from home but we usually got in traffic, I spent as much time driving as I did fishing. One night it was cold, raw and wet, I decided to go alone because of the weather. Dave was fishing there and we got talking and lost track of time. After two and a half hours we only had one fish each. We were working our way back to our cars ready to leave, then they really turned on. We both caught over ten fish. Dave caught at least three keepers and I got one 31 inches while using my trout rod. The point of the story is, if I went with my friend, I’d have been home an hour and a half before the fish even started hitting.

One last example, when I go to New Hampshire alone, I have to deal with a three hour drive each way. To be honest the ride there I am jacked up and it flies by. The ride home is tough. I stop at the rest area sixty miles from the MA/NH border and buy a couple sodas. I never drink caffeine, so I get high from the soda, at least enough to keep me awake.  When I go to New Hampshire by myself, I spend the whole day going from pond to pond. I will get up around five am and fish till the fish stop hitting flies after dark. To me this is a great day, but I couldn’t even convince my son to do that. When he goes up with me, we do a lot more hiking. We will climb a mountain or hike to a waterfall. This is also great and I can enjoy mountain top views for hours. Two different types of trips, both great, just different memories.

So I guess the point of this post is just to separate the two points of view of spending time alone fishing or in the woods or needing someone to go with. I guess part of it is feeling comfortable alone. At many places I go, if I got hurt there would be little help for hours. The surf in the middle of the night can be a desolate place. I also think part of it is confidence. You need confidence in yourself to sleep in the woods for a couple days or fish big waves.. You need to know what you are doing (how to set up a tent, pack a back pack, stay dry, etc.) You only get that confidence from experience. I also think some of it is being male. I know girls that tell me they would be scared to be alone in the woods. I guess I see there point. Yet I see girls jogging alone in Providence after dark a lot and I think cities would be scarier than any fuzzy black bear.  

Things I am thankful for- Outdoor Style!

I obviously have friends and family that I am thankful for. I am lucky enough to have a roof over my head and a decent job. More than anything I am greatful to have a son that I love and am extremely proud of. I have a couple of great best friends, the youngest I just melded crayons with in her Crayola Crayon Maker. Watching Thursday night shows, having buffalo chicken and watching football with Laurie are memories I will always have. I have a brother that I know would do anything for me along with many other friends and relatives that I could say the same for

… But this is an outdoor blog so I came up with a few things I am thankful for. I purposely chose only things in New England or this list could get R-E-A-L-L-Y     L-O-N-G. So here I go…

 

1.       I am thankful for stripers, without them I would be lost

2.       I am thankful for New Hampshire, because it is there I never feel trapped in my little corner, because Canon Mountain and Profile Lake are only three hours away

3.        I am thankful for smallmouth bass, no freshwater fish puts up a more noble fight

4.       I am thankful Laurie lets me fish when we go to New Hampshire, she never complains and enjoys putting her feet in the water

5.       I am thankful I was in Narragansett to witness the best day for False Albacore in Rhode Island history, just pure luck but it was spectacular

6.       I am thankful for moose, bears and bald eagles, they are far more impressive than any human

7.       I am thankful for all the advice and tips DP has given me through the years. There is no hiding he is my mentor. I would not know nearly as much about fishing without his help. He has shared many spots with me and answered countless email questions. On top of all his knowledge, he is a good friend

8.       I am thankful for twenty fish days, but I am also thankful for the days I struggle for one or two so I can appreciate the great days that much more.

9.       I am thankful for all the access to the trout ponds down the Cape. Sure the trout are hatchery raised but some of the places I fish are just beautiful.

10.   I am very very thankful for wintering over stripers. Before I met them I hated winter to the point of depression, now winter is a season I welcome

11.   I am thankful very few people fish for carp because a lot of the places I fish for them are small and would crowd easily

12.   I am equally thankful for Providence and Narragansett

 

13.   I am thankful for having a smallmouth lake only ten minutes from my house ( and never knew it until this year)

14.   I am thankful for mountain top views and waterfalls, both awe me.

15.   I am thankful for the Shimano Baitrunner 3500, Shimano Spheros 4000 and Shimano Sedona, all great reels at a reasonable price

16.   I am thankful my mom taught me how to fish, if she would have lived long enough I could have repaid her tenfold because I could have taught her so much more

17.   I am thankful for all the summers I spent on Toddy Pond in Maine as a kid.

18.   I am thankful for Bass Pro Shops Fishing Sale in March, it is a sale guys love

19.   I am thankful for lakers and salmon in Wachusetts Reservoir

20.   I am thankful for the enjoyment I get from fishing and the outdoors. I wouldn't want to be any other way

21. I am thankful I live in the greatest country in the world where I have the freedom to fish where I want. A place where the best scenery is open to the public and not reservered for the elite.  Even if I fish ten days in a row, I don't take even one of those days for granted.Thank you

Good Fishing/ Good Conversation

I along with the two guys I fished with caught quite a few stripers tonight. How many we caught is unimportant. What was important was how much fun we had. Tonight was chilly but the cold temps did not put a damper on any of our moods. I fished with my good friend Dave and another guy that I have seen many times the last couple weeks named Paul.

The three of us caught fish, but what made it fun were the laughs. A cracked up more than once. Other times we just made jokes teasing each other. On a cold night it is nice to fish with others. Time goes by much quicker when you have someone to talk too when the temperature is below freezing.

I can be a bit serious when fishing. I concentrate a little to hard on hooking up. Sometimes I need those nights/days when its not about the fish, but about the laughs... tonight was one of them.

100 Fish Week!

A fish from Nov 3

Of course there are some days when a fisherman runs into non stop action that is considered catching not fishing. Occasionally this fishing can last all day and someone can rack up huge numbers, even 100 fish days.

I can't say I have had a week anything like that. However, throughout the course of the week, I did manage a hundred schoolie stripers. I have switched to fishing at dusk and well into dark. I have run into some really good fishing.  As mentioned before, the only night I have not fished this week was during the snowstorm. I planned on fishing even in the snow, but as road conditions worsened, I chose not to be my normal idiot self and used self control.

Other than that night though, I have dealt with some nasty northeast winds, some bitter cold northwest winds and a couple 25 degree nights. I fish all winter, so whining about fishing in the cold isn't really for sympathy, I don't expect any. Most people do not think its worth leaving there cozy house to fish for stripers. I do.

Anyway, every night this week, I have ran into large numbers of fish. I did not find any blitzes, or birds. I did have to keep moving and keep looking for them as I did not find more than a couple stacked up in any one spot.

Today, I decided to fish during the day since it was my day off. I started about 11:30, but ( and this is painful) I didn't get my first hit until after 3 pm. After the first couple schoolies, the hits were very consistent for the next three hours. I ended the day with 24 fish. I unexpectedly ran across Dave and a couple other guys. They all caught over ten fish each. I stayed longer than everyone else, that's the only reason I caught the most. All my fish were caught on Zoom flukes today, others were caught on white grubs and a jighead.

I hope this fishing continues for a while. Since the ocean access is iffy right now, I am glad to find all these fish 20 minutes from home.

Striper Fishing has been Great!

This is one of the smaller fish I got this week

Many of you know the ocean front is really bad right now. Parking and access are very tough. I am happy to report I have been catching a lot of fish in Upper Narragansett Bay. I have been out every day/night this month. From Nov 1 to Nov 6 I have averaged 11 fish a night. I have been finding them in upper reaches of salt rivers and salt ponds.  So there are fish still around.

Keep in mind these fish are not giants. They have averaged 18-22 inches. A couple have run 24 or 25 inches. I have been using a seven foot medium freshwater rod to catch these fish. The reel is spooled with 10 pound line. All fish were caught on 3/8 ounce jigs or zoom flukes. These size fish are a lot of fun on light tackle.   I have found the fish to be very aggressive. I have seen some fish chasing bait even after dark. I have not run into any concentrations of blitzing fish. Most of the fish seem to be alone and I have to keep moving to find fish.

 I have been out in northeast and north winds the last few nights. I assume the night time temps were in the high twenties the last few nights. One day I fished in the rain. I know that the good fishing won't last much longer so I have been willing to be out in these uncomfortable conditions to catch fish.

The point of this post is to let you know not to give up yet.

Making bucktail jigs

I have been stubborn when it comes to bucktail jigs most of my life. I decided to try them this year. The reason I wanted to use them was actually because I thought it would be fun to make some. So this spring I made some bucktails just for the hell of it.

I started using them regularly this year. I should have been using them for years. I have caught more fish than I can count on them. They are easy to make. To buy bucktail jigs it is very expensive. I was at Bass Pro yesterday and they had small bucktails 3 for $5. The slightly bigger ones were running about two dollars each. To make my own, its a lot closer to 50 cents each. When blues are around or fishing a rocky bottom, a fisherman can go through them fairly quickly.

Many anglers are not even carrying them in there tackle bags any more because of soft plastics. However, they can sometimes work better than the plastic because they will dig a little deeper in the water column. I've caught a lot of stripers in the last three days. All but two were on a 3/8 ounce white bucktail.

To make your own all you need is a bucktail ( from the fly fishing section of a well stocked tackle shop). A jig head. I buy regular flathead jigs from Bass Pro 10/ $4. Some red thread and a vise to hold the jig. Here are some pictures on how to tie a bucktail jig. They did not come out very well but they should give you an idea on how easy they are to make.

Put the jig on a vise and wrap some red thread to give your bucktail some thing to grip

Take a small amount of bucktail and place on hook. Wrap the thread around it

Do this two more times. Trying to cover a third of the hook each time

Pictures are deceptive. Tie very sparsely

Once you get the bucktail on all sides wrap the red thread tightly and neatly around the neck
Use a whip finish to tie the knot

Use a little head cement ( I use Gorilla glue) to seal the thread

These are the jigheads  I start with

I make jigs in four sizes  1/4, 3/8, 1/2 and 3/4 ounce. To see a video, my friend made one on how to tie a bucktail jig. Its easy and they are an unbelievable lure to have. I am a believer. Click on link below.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss9ati-DKTQ&list=UUDZxqPVXrtCj1GwZeU0UoGg&index=13&feature=plcp

They are still around

One of the pleasant surprise stripers from yesterday

Yesterday I went on a scouting trip to see if any stripers were around since the big blow a couple days ago. I was afraid the stripers might have taken off getting flushed out of the bay by the high tides and rain.

I didn't expect to catch anything. If I caught one or two I would at least know that fish were still around and I still had an excuse to get out of my house. It turned out that I found a mother load. Believe it or not ended up with 16 schoolies. They were very small but I was extremely happy to catch a bunch of fish. I caught them all on a small bucktail jig. I never had to switch lures. I found between one and seven fish at a bunch of different places.

Today, I went back along with my friend Dave. The wind turned northeast and messed with fishing. However, we both caught a couple fish. We each got two stripers. I caught a couple hickory shad. Dave surprisingly got a couple snapper blues. Surprising that they are still around in November.

So I guess this means that if you were catching fish in back water areas, salt ponds, or salt rivers the fish are probably still there. Go give those spots a try again. It may be a little while before we all have access to the ocean again. Just because the ocean is not an option, don't give up on fishing. The season is almost over, get in your time now